US President Barack Obama and his family visit Corcovado to see the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rinaldo Americo, a Barack Obama impersonator, greets a tourist in Cinelandia Square in Rio de Janeiro where the real President Obama gave a speech. Obama visited Brazil on March 19 and 20 as part of a Latin American tour that also includes Chile and El Salvador.

US first lady Michelle Obama and local school children plant vegetables at the White House Kitchen Garden in Washington, DC

A mother points out hot air balloons to her child as a giant balloon shaped like the head of the character Darth Vader from the Star Wars films lifts off behind them during the 3rd Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Malaysia

Glenn Knight, 39, unveils Britain's first pet first aid course where owners learn how to perform CPR and mouth-to-mouth on cats and dogs. The training sessions use dummy animals to teach pet owners how to carry out lifesaving techniques on their beloved pets. He formed the business after he was powerless to intervene when his own dog Sasha, a seven-year-old Labrador, died two years ago.

A bottlenose dolphin leaps for the first time in many months, welcoming spring to Tobermory Bay on the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland

Bolivia's President Evo Morales holds bread during "pujllay" celebrations in Tarabuco. "Pujllay" commemorates Tarabuco's indigenous culture during which members of the community perform music and dance, and present an offering to Mother Earth.

Satirical figures representing US President Barack Obama, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuba's Fidel Castro, are seen mounted before the traditional Fallas festival in Valencia, Spain. Every year the city of Valencia celebrates the ancient "Las Fallas" fiesta, a noisy week full of fireworks and processions in honour of Saint Joseph that ends at midnight on March 19, with the burning of large paper mache figures displayed around the streets of the city.

A large papier mache figure is burned during the Fallas festival in Valencia, Spain. Every year the city of Valencia celebrates the Las Fallas fiesta, a noisy week that is full of fireworks and processions in honour of Saint Joseph which climaxes in the burning of large papier mache figures displayed around the streets of the city.

People smear coloured powder on each other during the Holi festival celebrations in Chennai, India

...The giant shoal of fish - thought to be sardines - formed into a bait ball, a defensive formation which they adopt for safety in numbers from predators.

Balwant Singh, a "Nihang" or Sikh warrior, wearing an 800-metre-long turban, brandishes a "talwar" or sword as he takes part in the Holla Mohalla festival in Anandpur Sahib, in Punjab. Hola Mohalla, or the festival of Nihangs, is celebrated during the Hindu religious festival of Holi, marking the congregation of Sikh devotees from all over the country.

A hot air balloon floats past people who are watching the sunrise at the Pyramid of the Sun of Teotihuacan in Mexico during a festival as part of the spring equinox

Fireworks are seen above a mountain draped with the Kurdish flag for a celebration of Nowruz in Akra, Iraq. Nowruz, the Farsi-language word for "new year", is an ancient Persian festival, celebrated on the first day of spring.

Monkeys holding on to stone taps drink water at the Peace Pond at Syambhunath stupa, a holy shrine in Kathmandu, Nepal

Spinner sharks are seen from James Abernethy's ultralight flying boat at West Palm Beach, Florida. His pictures show up to 10,000 sharks viewed from above indulging in a feeding frenzy...

A woman crosses over a tsunami-hit railway track in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, Japan

An elephant collects money from tourists to help the victims of the earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, on the Khao San road in Bangkok, Thailand

Admirers wait for Prince William in Kerang before his visit to flood-affected regions of Victoria, Australia